Senior NASA officials, mission scientists, engineers, and staff gathered at the University of Michigan recently for one of the final milestones in the CYGNSS (Cyclone Global Navigational Satellite System) mission's progress toward launch in late November. CYGNSS is a constellation of eight small satellites carried to orbit on a single launch vehicle. In orbit, satellite micro-observatories will study the relationship between ocean surface properties, moist atmospheric thermodynamics, radiation and convective dynamics. CYGNSS scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the formation of cyclones and hurricanes in order to help improve storm prediction and tracking. Read more

Two members of the Climate & Space department faculty are on NASA’s list of university teams collaborating on the development and demonstration of new technologies and capabilities for small spacecraft. Beginning this fall, U-M professors Mark Moldwin andJames Cutler (who also has an appointment in Aerospace Engineering), will work with NASA scientists and engineers as well as the other university teams on the two-year project. Read more

Climate & Space assistant professor Eric Kort will be part of faculty team
charged with planning the transition to a new school at the University of Michigan, according to U-M Provost Martha Pollack. ​The school will address global sustainability challenges at the intersection of environment and society, and the New School Faculty Transition Team will develop a set of recommendations to guide the inaugural dean. Read more

Christiane Jablonowski, Associate Professor in Climate and Space, was a key organizer of the 2016 Dynamical Core Model Intercomparison Project (DCMIP-2016) and its associated 2-week summer school that took place at NCAR, Boulder, CO, from June 6-17, 2016. Read more

Researchers have flown aircraft over an oil and gas field and pinpointed – with unprecedented precision – sources of the greenhouse gas methane in real time. The technique led to the detection and immediate repair of two leaks in natural gas pipelines in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest. The approach could inform strategies for meeting new federal limits on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Methane emissions have spiked in recent decades along with the boom in natural gas drilling. Read more